April 24, 2008 by pjorgensen

Meet Your Neighbors

Founded in 1867, Lincoln, Nebraska has grown and changed. Many early residents had family origins from Eastern and Southern Europe, especially German Russians. Today, melding new and old, Lincoln is truly an international city with citizens whose heritage represents more than 50 countries and at least 5 of the 7 continents.

In the early 1980’s, the City of Lincoln conducted oral histories of those early settlers. These are currently archived at the Nebraska State Historical Society and are an interesting read. In 2005 the City’s Parks and Recreation Department, in conjunction with the AmeriCorps program, conducted oral histories of today’s Lincolnites. Now you are able to listen to the stories of your new neighbors who have come from Sudan, Vietnam, Ukraine, China, and Bosnia through this cooperative effort with the Lincoln City Libraries. Hear the struggle of parents overcoming cultural and language barriers as they build a better life to their children. Listen to the children’s version of adaptation, and learning to balance two cultures.

We are pleased to bring you this enriching collection of people who live in Lincoln today. Please take a few minutes to meet some of your new neighbors browsing these oral histories and perhaps gain new insight into the challenges your family members experienced when they first settled here.

Klaus Yurk was born in Kolbermoar, Germany. Klaus has written a book about his experiences coming to the United States following World War II. He began life as an “outsider” but in now a member of the majority population.

Siddig Nour immigrated to the United States in 2000. He was born in Umburu, Sudan and educated as an attorney. He practiced his profession in Southern Darfur before moving his family to the United States.

Zheying Yang, known as Jane, was born in Shenyang, China which is in Northeast China. She came to the United States in 1999 and moved to Lincoln when her husband got a job at the University of Nebraska.

Duyen Tu is a Vietnamese youth born in Vietnam. Following the Vietnam War Duyen’s s family scattered to Finland, Norway and Australia. Her family came to the United States seeking better opportunities.

Linda Pham was born in the United States but has returned to Vietnam with her parents. She would like to live in Vietnam because she thinks she would have more freedom to go where she wanted and because she has a very large extended family in Vietnam.

Papa Kwekuadabie was born in Kumasi Ghana. The hardest part of going to school here was learning the locker numbers and cafeteria number. He first made new friends in ELL class but still misses his old friends in Ghana.

Kak Ayaj lived in several towns in his native Sudan. He went to first grade in Egypt and then came to the United States. He speaks Dinka, Arabic, and English. The most difficult thing for Kak to adjust to was learning to read and write English.

Achiel Angelo came to Lincoln, Nebraska from native Sudan, then to Egypt, Boston, Massachusetts, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Her family’s decision to immigrate here was to escape the war and a chance for Achiel and her siblings to have an education.

Zainab Al-Asaby ‘s family is from Iraq but she was born in Saudi Arabia. The family’s first home in the United States was In Texas, Zainab’s peers were very disrespectful of her choice to hold on to Iraq’s culture.